Youth crime in the U.S. has plummeted 78% since 1994
Law enforcement agencies made an estimated 424,300 arrests of youth in 2020, a 38% drop from the previous year and half the number from five years earlier.
Nations
Wild mammals are making a comeback in Europe thanks to conservation efforts
By the first half of the 20th century, many of Europe’s mammals had been reduced to just a fraction of historical levels. But many mammal populations have seen a dramatic increase over the last 50 years.
U.S. Senate ratifies Kigali Amendment, joining more than 130 countries in treaty to eliminate HFCs
HFCs were widely adopted in the 1980s and 1990s to replace CFCs, which damage the Earth’s ozone layer. But then HFCs emerged as some of the most potent greenhouse gases, far more potent than carbon dioxide.
Cuba approves same-sex marriage in historic turnabout
Cubans approved a measure to legalize same-sex marriage, part of a new family code that’s among the most progressive in Latin America, defying a long tradition of machismo on the island.
Connecticut becomes one of the first U.S. states to require schools to teach climate change
A recent national survey of science teachers found that most middle school and high school teachers devote just one to two hours of instruction on climate change during the entire academic year.
El Salvador sees unprecedented decline in homicides since 2015
El Salvador’s homicide rate in 2021 was 3.1 per day; a precipitous drop from 2015’s homicide rate of 18.2 murders per day. It has continued to drop in 2022.
Equatorial Guinea abolishes death penalty
Capital punishment was “totally abolished” in the oil-rich central African country after the president signed a new penal code.
Fish return off coast of Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul after state’s trawling ban
Trawl nets literally sweep the ocean floor, turning a complex ecosystem into a desert.
Australia sets new climate target in landmark bill
Australia’s parliament has passed legislation enshrining a pledge to slash carbon emissions by 43% by 2030 and to net zero by 2050.
China’s CO2 emissions fall by record 8% in second quarter of 2022
China’s emissions have now fallen year-on-year for four consecutive quarters, extending what was already the longest sustained decline in recent history.